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MESSAGE IN A POISON BOTTLE

Why Putin loves using ‘viciously theatrical’ poison to kill his enemies and keep would-be critics silent

POISON is a weapon which may feel more at home in the Middle Ages - yet it appears to be the method of choice for Russian president Vladimir Putin.

Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny is fighting for his life after allegedly drinking suspected poisoned tea, the latest in a long line of Kremlin critics who have mysteriously been taken ill.

At least eight enemies of Vladimir Putin have been poisoned since 2004
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At least eight enemies of Vladimir Putin have been poisoned since 2004Credit: AFP

Putin has wished him well, perhaps sending a what experts describe as a "sly wink" to the rest of world.

It seems the regime know the Russian state's link to the assassination attempt may never be proven.

Poisonings linked to the Kremlin have left opponents disfigured, in medically induced comas, and worst of all dying slow and painful deaths.

And the method seems to differ every time, with poison-tipped umbrellas, chemical agents daubed on doorknobs, or simply toxins spiked into victims food and drinks.

At least eight prominent critics of Putin and his regime are suspected to have been poisoned after being taken ill in mysterious circumstances.

Experts have said Putin's apparent fetish for such a medieval weapon is for two reasons - its "easy deniability" and its "vicious theatricality".

Mark Galeotti, a senior associate fellow at the Royal United Services Institute, told Foreign Policy: "One of poison’s great virtues for the politically-minded murderer is their capacity to combine easy deniability and vicious theatricality.

"Even while the murderer denies any role, perhaps with a sly wink, the victim dies a horrific and often lengthy death.

"A message in a poison bottle."

Victims can spend weeks in hospital fighting for their lives and even if they survive they will have been sent an unforgettable message - don't mess with Putin.

Alexei Navalny is rushed to hospital from his flight
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Alexei Navalny is rushed to hospital from his flightCredit: 112 Channel
Alexei Navalny is described as the man Putin "fears most"
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Alexei Navalny is described as the man Putin "fears most"Credit: AP:Associated Press

Navalny was filmed screaming as he was taken ill on a plane back to Moscow from Tomsk after he was seen drinking tea in the airport's cafe.

Russian doctors have insisted the sickness was either down to booze or low blood sugar.

But his allies have said they believe he was poisoned, and he remains on a ventilator at a hospital in Omsk.

Officials have refused to allow him to be flown to Germany to receive treatment, which his spokeswoman said is a ploy to allow the poison to pass through his system.

He was one of Putin's most high profile critics - being described as the man Vlad "fears most" by the Wall Street Journal in 2012.

Navalny's mysterious "illness" follows on from poisoning of MI6 double agent Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia in Salisbury on March 3, 2018.

The duo were left fighting for their lives after the nerve agent Novichok was daubed on the doorknob of his home.

The attack also poisoned hero cop Sgt Nick Bailey, and locals Charlie Rowley and Dawn Sturgess - with the mum-of-three dying from exposure to the toxin.

Sergei and Yulia Skripal were both posioned in Salisbury
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Sergei and Yulia Skripal were both posioned in SalisburyCredit: Rex Features

Putin's suspected poison victims

EIGHT enemies of Vladimir Putin have been suspiciously taken ill in suspected poisonings since 2004.

Anna Politkovskaya - Poisoned after drinking tea given to her by an Aeroflot flight attendant in September 2004. She was later shot dead in Moscow in October 2006.

Viktor Yushchenko - Left disfigured after consuming food laced with chemical TCDD also in September 2004. Managed to recover and win the Ukrainian presidency on a pro-West platform - serving from 2005 to 2010

Alexander Litvinenko - Died after being poisoned with radioactive polonium in London in November 2006. Blamed Putin for the attack on his deathbed.

Vladimir Kara-Murza  - Taken ill after suspected to have been poisoned on an Aeroflot plane in May 2015. He was then believed to be poisoned again in February 2017.

Pyotr Verzilov - Hospitalised after becoming ill in Moscow after visiting court proceedings against anti-Putin band Pussy Riot on Setepmber 12, 2018.

Sergei Skripal - Found critically ill on a bench in Salisbury after believed to have been poisoned with Russia-developed nerve agent Novchok on March 4, 2018.

Yulia Skripal - Taken ill alongside her dad on the same day. Both spent weeks fighting for their life in hospital in a brazen attack that shocked the UK.

Alexei Navalny - Left screaming and violently ill after he is believed to have drunk poison tea before boarding a flight in Tomsk on August 20, 2020.

John Sipher, who spent 28 years working with the CIA, said: "The Kremlin has a long, ugly history of intimidating and killing those who they see as a threat to the state.

"Journalists, opposition figures, vocal Russians abroad, and others always have to remain aware that the Kremlin doesn’t see them as free citizens."

Poison seems to have been the weapon of choice for Russia since the Cold War.

Bulgarian dissident Georgi Markov was injected with a poison-tipped umbrella by in an assassination linked to the KGB in 1978.

The Soviet Union is known to have carried out research into untraceable poisons that were tested on gulag prisoners.

Gennadi V. Gudkov, a former KGB colonel, said poison is often used as its easy and anyone could do it - such as by lacing a cup of tea at an airport cafe.

He told the New York Times: "It is easy, and easy to cover your tracks."

Alexander Litvinenko was a former KGB agent
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Alexander Litvinenko was a former KGB agentCredit: AP:Associated Press
Alexander Litvinenko died a slow death from radiation poisoning in 2006
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Alexander Litvinenko died a slow death from radiation poisoning in 2006Credit: Getty - Contributor

Alexander Litvinenko, a former KGB agent, is perhaps the most high profile case of a poisoning linked to the Russian state.

The infamous picture of him lying in hospital looking critically ill serves as a reminder of the suspected reach of the Kremlin.

He is believed to have been given a fatal dose of radioactive polonium-210 and suffered a slow three week long death for radiation sickness in November 2006.

Scotland Yard said they believe the Russian state is linked to his murder, and witnesses have said he was killed to "set an example".

In his final statement, he said: "You may succeed in silencing one man but the howl of protest from around the world will reverberate, Mr Putin, in your ears for the rest of your life.

"May God forgive you for what you have done, not only to me but to beloved Russia and its people."

Russia has denied involvement in his death, and said he was "mentally unstable" - seemingly dismissing him as unimportant to Putin.

Pyotr Verzilov was the spokesman for anti-Putin band Pussy Riot
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Pyotr Verzilov was the spokesman for anti-Putin band Pussy RiotCredit: AP:Associated Press
Pyotr Verzilov was poisoned in 2018 with "exactly the same" condition at Navalny
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Pyotr Verzilov was poisoned in 2018 with "exactly the same" condition at NavalnyCredit: Reuters

Russian opposition activist Pyotr Verzilov, spokesman of the anti-Putin band Pussy Riot, was also a victim of a suspected poisoning on September 12, 2018.

German doctors said it was "highly probable" he had been poisoned as he investigated the deaths of three Russian journalists in Africa.

Speaking of Navalny this week, he said: "I was in exactly the same condition."

Russian journalist Anna Politkovskaya was also poisoned while on a flight in 2004.

She survived but was late shot dead in an apparent contract killing at her home in 2006.

Meanwhile, top Putin critic Vladimir Kara-Murza believes he has been poisoned twice by the Russian state.

In 2015 he suffered a weeklong coma, and believes he ingested the toxin during the inflight-service on an Aeroflot plane.

And he was then taken ill again in 2017, once again placed in a coma to save his life.

His doctors have warned him if he is struck down a third time, he will die.

Vladimir Kara-Murza has been poisoned twice
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Vladimir Kara-Murza has been poisoned twice Credit: AP:Associated Press
Anna Politkovskaya was posioned on a flight
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Anna Politkovskaya was posioned on a flight Credit: AP:Associated Press
Viktor Yushchenko was left disfigured by his suspected brush with Putin
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Viktor Yushchenko was left disfigured by his suspected brush with PutinCredit: Rex Features

Ukraine opposition politician Viktor Yushchenko was left disfigured when he was poisoned while standing to be president on a pro-West platform in 2004.

It is believe he was poisoned with dioxin TCDD during a dinner with officials from the Ukrainian security services.

He had to undergo dozens of operations in the aftermath - and his face was left scarred and pock-marked by the illness.

Russia was accused of harboring three suspects linked to the poisoning - and he believes the assassination was ordered by Moscow.

Putin's regime has always denied or dismissed all allegations that it is behind a campaign of poisonings and assassinations against its critics.

Other critics have also been killed in mysterious circumstances, such as being shot or found strangled - but poison seems to be reserved for Putin's greatest enemies.

British foreign secretary Dominic Raab has said he is "deeply concerned" by the poisoning of Navalny, whole Foreign Affairs Committee chairman Tom Tugendhat suggested the Putin's "mafia state" was to blame.

READ MORE SUN STORIES

The US Embassy in Russia said the latest suspected poisoning "represents a grave moment for Russia" if the allegation is true.

Vladimir Putin enemy Alexei Navalny rushed to hospital unconscious 'after his tea was spiked with poison on plane'

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